


How to (not) tell someone you have crush on them

by LittleLuxxie



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Character Name Spelled as Yuri, Character name spelled as Victor, Cuddles, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Nothing can convince me Victor “Extra” Nikiforov wouldn’t spell his name as “victor”, Oblivious Katsuki Yuuri, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-02-23 12:50:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23878372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLuxxie/pseuds/LittleLuxxie
Summary: Trying to make someone jealous to see if they have a crush on you, that’s a pretty stupid plan. So why Yuri suggested it to Victor, he doesn’t know. Why he suggested he should find someone to fake-date for a short time, he doesn’t know. Why he offered to be the person Victor fake-dates, he doesn’t know. Why Victor accepted this, he doesn’t know.All he knows is that he’s an idiot and this is such a mess, and not good. Like at all.-“What is it?” Yuri said after a moment, “Is there something on my face?”Victor shook his head, “No, you’re just hot.”“Oh my god, Victor!” Yuri spluttered, almost dropping his water bottle.“Wha-aat? I can’t call my boyfriend hot?” Victor asked innocently.“I’m not though…” Yuri murmured under his breath, caught off guard and unsure of what to say.“Which? Not hot? Not my boyfriend?” Victor’s eyes twinkled.“Both…”“Yes, you are. To both,” Victor said and leaned in closer, “Watch what you’re saying, what if someone heard?” His voice was sultry and teasing, not sounding the least bit worried.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 10
Kudos: 184





	How to (not) tell someone you have crush on them

**Author's Note:**

> I've struggled lately _(*cough* for a long time *cough*)_ with finishing my WIP's and decided to take a break from my multichapter stuff (which I haven't published any of, because I know myself and I don't want to do that to anyone) and do some one-shots. I have a few in different fandoms started or at least an idea down. 
> 
> Anyway, this one was the first to the chopping block. I don't remember when I started it and I don't remember why, it was probably a prompt somewhere and I forgot to write it down. I have no idea. I find this trope funny, that's all. I had a document with around 1500 words, and I just... wrote until it was finished. And here we are. I hope someone will find it entertaining, I had fun writing it.
> 
> **A few things before we start;**
> 
> I'm basing this school loosely on the Swedish school system. The equivalent of High School would be our Gymnasium, which is 3 years instead of 4 and you start when you're 15-16 years old. 
> 
> Here the characters are supposed to be in their second year, the third semester, meaning they're 16-17 years old (Yuri and Victor are 16 since both of their birthdays are later in the year). 
> 
> It's also supposed to be a special athletic school, meaning many of them have moved there from different parts of the country, or out of it, to attend. Which is why the school has dormitories. The school doesn't just house figure skaters, but a lot of other sports too. Aaaand this is perhaps a bit much info dump for a one-shot...?
> 
> Oh, and I use the spelling from the subs on Crunchyroll, which is where I watched the series and that's what I'm going with.

“Yuri,” a whining voice said from the floor beside Yuri’s bed. He only hummed non-committal in answer, trying to focus on finding the right paragraph in his textbook.

“Yu-uuri!”

A thud told Yuri that Victor had dropped his textbook. With a sigh, he marked the page and closed his book. Peering over the bed’s edge he saw Victor splayed out like a starfish on the floor. Which meant he took up almost all of the available space in the tiny dorm. His leg almost touched Yuri’s dresser, and if he moved his arm a little, he would hit Yuri’s desk. Next to his head laid the discarded textbook and an open notebook.

“Wha-aaat?” Yuri tried to mimic Victor’s exaggerated whine but didn’t quite manage to keep the amusement out of his voice. Victor narrowed his eyes and looked appropriately offended.

“I’m bored,” he stuck his lip out further, “Let’s take a break.”

“We’ll be done soon,” Yuri said, “We can do something after.”

“My brain is mush,” Victor complained, “We don’t have to hand the paper in until Friday anyway, we can finish tomorrow. Or on Tuesday. Or any other day.”

Yuri tried to keep a stern face, but knew the battle was lost before it even began. He couldn’t say no to Victor when he did those cute puppy eyes, “Fine, what do you wanna do?”

Victor rolled over on his stomach, pout and puppy eyes completely vanished. “We can watch a movie?”

Yuri fought the smile twitching at the corner of his mouth, “Sure, what movie?”

“Um, doesn’t matter, you can pick.” Victor bounced to his feet, “Do you want a soda? I want one.”

“Sure,” Yuri said, and reached for his laptop. Victor was already halfway out the door, leaving it ajar as he shuffled towards the shared kitchen. A moment passed and then Yuri heard Victor’s voice again, “No horror!”

Yuri chuckled and called, “Ghibli?”

“Yes!”

Victor had confided in Yuri a few weeks ago that he, like some form of heathen, hadn’t seen any of the Studio Ghibli movies. Or, he thought he’d seen ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’, dubbed in Russian, when he was little but hadn’t liked it. Yuri had fake gasped at that in a manner almost worthy of Victor himself, and decided Victor needed to see them if they were to continue being friends. They were all available on Netflix after all, there was no excuse. Victor had laughingly agreed.

Yuri had been weirdly nervous when they started ‘My neighbor Totoro’, he didn’t know how to handle it if Victor didn’t like them. He needn’t have worried though, since Victor had loved every movie they’d watched so far.

After rearranging a few things on his desk, which doubled as a nightstand, he placed the laptop there. Deciding it was time to reintroduce Victor to ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. Because Yuri couldn’t imagine that Victor wouldn’t like it, if anything he should love Howl… Yuri had more than once associated Victor with the drama Howl put up when Sophie caused a hair-coloring-mishap.

Not that Victor was that bad, but there were some undeniable tendencies there, Yuri thought tenderly and smiled as Victor returned with two bottles of sugar-free soda. Handing Yuri the raspberry flavor he preferred and settling in next to him on the bed.

They began side by side with some space between them. But the longer the movie went on, that space decreased and soon Victor laid curled up with his head on Yuri’s shoulder. Yuri more than once pointed out where the translation had lost things, or when things could be interpreted more ambiguously than the English provided. Victor didn’t once seem like he wanted to turn off the Yuri-commentary-track, which was good since it was probably impossible. He just laughed or nodded along on the appropriate places, sometimes asking questions.

Yuri’s favorite thing was when Victor tried to mimic some phrases or asked about the meaning of words while doing his best to pronounce it. It was so endearingly clumsy that it made Yuri’s heart clench every time.

When the credits began rolling Victor assured Yuri that he had indeed liked the movie, even if Howl was a tad bit too overdramatic. Yuri suppressed a laugh and sat up to turn off the computer. Behind him, Victor’s laugh ebbed out quickly.

“Yuri?”

“Mmm?” Yuri said, closing the lid of the laptop and sitting back down.

Victor had picked up his empty bottle again and was turning it over in his hands. “Do you like anyone?”

Yuri’s brain came to a screeching halt, “Uh, wh- what?”

“You know, like a crush?” Victor looked at him with an innocent smile, like it wasn’t at all a strange thing to ask out of the blue.

“I- uh, why do you ask?”

Victor continued to fiddle with the bottle, “Just curious.”

“Um, do you?” Yuri asked, trying to find a way out of this without having to answer Victor’s original question. This was not how he planned to confess his feelings for Victor, in fact, he planned on never confessing his feelings for Victor.

Victor gave Yuri a strange look that he couldn’t read, “Yes.”

It felt like his throat constricted so he couldn’t breathe at the same time he got an overwhelming urge to throw up. Of course, of course, Victor liked someone. And now he wanted to talk about it with Yuri. His friend. Friends talked about things like this right? So, even if there were few things Yuri would want to hear about less, he asked, “Who?”

Victor’s eyes were still on him, worrying his lower lip between his teeth while apparently thinking about his answer. Yuri was already squirming when Victor finally answered, “It’s kind of embarrassing, I don’t know if they feel the same.” He had started to pick at the label on the soda bottle, “Like, how do you even know that?”

“Eh, I don’t know,” Yuri said slowly, looking down at his own empty bottle. He had no experience in the matter, but he tried to be helpful, “Maybe… Do they seem to like spending time with you?”

“I think so, but they’re kind of reserved so it’s sometimes hard to tell,” said Victor, “But I think they spend more time with me than anyone else.”

Yuri swallowed heavily, “That should be some indication, I guess. Maybe you could… I don’t know… drop some hint or something?”

“Well, that’s part of the problem,” Victor whined, “They don’t seem to pick up on any of my hints.” He ripped off a corner of the label, “Maybe they just don’t like me and don’t want to hurt my feelings…”

“I doubt that,” said Yuri before he could stop himself.

“You really think so?” Victor looked so hopeful it made his stomach clench.

Yuri shrugged, trying to find something else to say to steer this away from that comment, “Um, anyway, have you seen them with someone else?”

“No…”

“Then you still have a shot, right?”

Victor searched his face intently, his fingers still on the bottle. Yuri had to avoid his gaze to try and cover up how uncomfortable this conversation made him.

“Perhaps, but how will I know they won’t just shut me down?”

Yuri almost gave a humorless laugh, yeah, that was the constant problem, wasn’t it? He thought for a moment before saying, “Maybe you should try and make them jealous, see how they react if you’re going out with someone else?”

“Do you really think that would work?” Victor looked skeptical, “And isn’t that kind of mean?”

“It wouldn’t have to be for long, maybe just like a fling to see if you get a reaction.”

Why in the world was he defending this stupid and childish idea? Someone should stop him from talking. Who said Yuri was allowed to open his mouth? Whoever it was should be fired.

“You could just be honest and tell them what you’re after, ask them to help?”

Honest, yeah, that was rich coming from him.

“Maybe, but who would want to do that?”

“I could,” Yuri’s mouth offered before he could think of it. Wow, this was really turning into a hot mess. What was he even doing? “I mean, only if you want. I understand if you don’t, but then you don’t have to find someone else…” His voice trailed off and he was picking at his own label now.

Victor was quiet for an uncomfortably long time. When Yuri dared a glance at him, he saw him looking intently at Yuri with a crease between his eyebrows. He met Yuri’s eyes and broke out into a wide smile, “Okay, let’s do it.”

“What, really?”

“Sure, it might even be fun,” said Victor, smiling that heart-shaped smile that always made Yuri weak in the knees. Thank god he was already sitting.

“Fun…” It wasn’t really the word Yuri would use to describe what they were about to do. Torture sounded more accurate. “Sure, fun.” And like he hated himself he added, “But if this is to work, I should know who it is we’re putting on a show for.”

“Oh, um… right…” Victor looked uncertain again, the crease back between his eyebrows. It was kind of cute. Focus, Yuri, focus. “How about I tell you if they’re close by?”

Yuri shrugged, trying to look like he didn’t care, and was actually quite glad he didn’t have to hear who it was Victor liked. “Okay.”

“Great,” Victor said, sitting up a little straighter, “I guess we should set up some ground rules. Like how much PDA we’re comfortable with?”

“Right,” Yuri said, thinking it over, “Whatever you’re comfortable with is fine by me.” This might be the only time he got a chance to be closer to Victor, however fake it would be, would it be so horrible to enjoy it? Probably.

“Oh, okay. Just tell me if it’s too much,” Victor laughed awkwardly, “I can get kind of intense, you know.”

“I know,” Yuri smiled fondly, “And the same goes for you.”

“I doubt that will be a problem,” Victor chuckled. “So, from tomorrow, we’re fake-boyfriends?”

“Sure,” Yuri pressed out. What in the world had he gotten himself into?

“Okay,” Victor said, “It’s getting late, I should probably head back to my room. See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow,” echoed Yuri and met Victor’s outstretched arms in a short hug. The most awkward between them since the first when Victor had taken Yuri by complete surprise with his physical approach to friendship.

Victor smiled and left Yuri’s room. As soon as the door was closed Yuri buried his face in a pillow and groaned loudly. This was a recipe for disaster he just knew it.

**-**

The next morning Yuri almost collided with Victor outside his door. He stood awkwardly outside with two reusable to-go cups in hand.

“Morning,” he said and smiled, holding out one cup to Yuri, “Green tea?”

Yuri gaped for a second and then took the cup, “Thank you. That’s so nice.”

Victor beamed and held out his now free hand, “Want to walk to class together?”

Hesitantly Yuri put his hand in Victor’s, then looked around the empty hallway and back to Victor.

“Better keep up appearances, right?” said Victor and started walking, “Wouldn’t it be strange if we only acted like a couple some of the time?”

“Oh,” Yuri felt stupid, “Of course, I didn’t think about that.”

Victor only squeezed his hand and took a sip from his cup. It felt unfairly good to go there across campus hand in hand. With a cup of green tea that Victor had prepared for him. Honestly, how could he be so perfect? If this crush didn’t like Victor back, they must be crazy.

Their classmates stared at them when they walked through the door. Phichit looked like his jaws had stopped working and his eyes would bulge out of his skull. Yuri prayed internally that Phichit wouldn’t say or do something that would reveal how Yuri had, in fact, a major crush on Victor.

“Finally,” said Chris and clapped Victor on the back, “I’m happy for you.”

Victor smiled, a tense and guarded smile, and said, “Thanks,” between clenched teeth.

Yuri only vaguely noted this since he was trying to convey to Phichit, who looked like his mouth and brain would be functioning again any second, that Yuri would kill him if he dared speak.

His silent threat was interrupted by the arrival of Professor Minako and the shuffle for everyone to get into their seat. Yuri put the now empty cup in his bag and taking out a book and notebook. Trying not to think about how cold and empty his hand felt. How it felt like Victor’s hand belonged in his, which it obviously didn’t, and thinking about this was only making everything worse.

While he scribbled nonsensical notes, he tried to remember if there was someone in their class who had reacted strangely when they entered. But he didn’t come up with anything. Though to be fair, he had been very focused on Phichit.

Victor had sounded strained when he answered Chris, why? Chris had sounded genuine to Yuri’s ears. Maybe it was Chris who Victor had a crush on, and got sad when he didn’t show any kind of jealousy? If so, Victor would probably call this off as soon as possible. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment at that thought. But it would be for the best, he clearly couldn’t do this. It had only been a little over an hour and he was already going crazy.

During the class he glanced to his side to see if Victor was looking at anyone particular. But the only times he seemed to take his eyes off Minako was when he caught Yuri looking.

**-**

After the class, they went on as usual. Going to the next classroom, hanging out in the corridor while waiting for it to start. Most of their class was there, as usual all of them stuck together more or less during the entire day. It was loud and chaotic, everyone involved in different conversations and none could really sit still for long.

Phichit had tried to corner Yuri alone to interrogate him without Victor, but it proved incredibly hard since Victor had basically plastered himself to Yuri’s side. Even more so than usual. In the months he’d known him, Yuri learned Victor was a very tactile person. Everyone had learned that.

But Yuri didn’t mind this new clinginess, it was nice to always have the warm closeness even if they were involved in different conversations. Yuri had reminded himself several times already in the two breaks they had between classes, that this wasn’t real. He had even managed to whisper a question to Victor if his crush was there. Which got a nod in answer, but all that confirmed was that the person was in their class. There were too many options. He had hoped Victor would look in the direction of someone or something when answering. But no such luck, Victor kept eye contact until Chris pulled him back into a discussion.

It wasn’t until lunch that Phichit managed to get Yuri alone, after following him to the bathroom. Victor had given Yuri a kiss on the cheek before he left the table and Yuri thought his face would burn up.

“So, you and Victor, huh?” said Phichit with a shit-eating grin after closing the door behind him, “I told you so, didn’t I?”

Yuri looked at him and considered what to say. Lying to his best friend like this, right to his face, felt much worse than just lying by omission. But could he really tell Phichit? What if Phichit was the one Victor liked? Well, in that case, it was a lost cause. Phichit really wasn’t interested. But could Phichit keep quiet? That was the real question.

“Yuri? Heeello?” Phichit waved a hand in front of his face, startling Yuri.

Yuri sighed and decided he needed to talk about this, “It’s not like that, Peach… It’s- it’s not real…”

“Eh, what’s that supposed to mean?”

The words fell out of Yuri’s mouth and Phichit was quiet through the entire spiel. His eyebrows furrowing further and further.

“Wow,” Phichit said when Yuri finished, “I was so sure he was into you.”

“I just want to crawl into a hole and die,” Yuri groaned and hid his face in his hands, his voice muffled, “I’m such an idiot.”

“This time I won’t argue with you,” Phichit said dryly, “This is the most ridiculous plan I’ve ever heard.”

“I know, but I promised…”

“You know Victor wouldn’t hold it against you if you said you’re uncomfortable and didn’t want to continue.”

Yuri looked up at Phichit and tried to put his racing thoughts into words. This hurt, but at the same time he wanted to hold on to every piece he could get.

Phichit must’ve seen his thoughts on his face because he clicked his tongue in disapproval, “Seriously?” he said in disbelief, “You’ll only get your heart broken worse the longer it continues.”

Yuri shrugged.

“It’s your funeral,” Phichit said and shook his head.

“Yeah, I know,” Yuri muttered.

After another deep sigh, Phichit said, “I’ll see you out there,” and left the bathroom.

When Yuri got back to the table Victor beamed and pulled him down onto the chair beside him, giving him a one-armed hug, “I missed you.”

Yuri laughed, “I was gone for five minutes.”

Victor pouted and nuzzled his cheek, “Still.”

Without thinking about it, Yuri gave him a peck on the nose, “Well, I’m back.”

A soft pink tint spread over Victor’s cheeks and he squeezed Yuri’s hand before turning his attention back on his food. Phichit was studying Victor with a curious expression. Yuri hoped he wouldn’t say something to reveal the lie to the rest of the table.

**-**

On Tuesday morning Victor was once again outside Yuri’s door with a cup of green tea, like the perfect boyfriend he was. Hand in hand they walked to the ice rink for the week's first training session with Yakov.

They had four hours of ice time before lunch, minus time to shower and change. Today Yuri had settled in more in the role of fake-boyfriends. He realized not much had actually changed, they were still friends. They still talked and joked around with both each other and the rest of the class. The only difference was that Victor was clingier. Making sure to give Yuri a hug when the opportunity arose. Draping himself over Yuri’s shoulders, and holding his hand. It was comfortable and felt really good. So good, that he more than once forgot that this wasn’t real.

**-**

Wednesday arrived, and Yuri wasn’t surprised when Victor was outside his door. This time Yuri gave him a quick peck on the cheek before he thought closer about it. Victor was just so sweet, and Yuri had gotten used to being able to give kisses and hugs without preamble. The fact that the corridor was once again empty didn’t occur to Yuri until he saw the blush over Victor’s nose and cheeks.

Shit, shit, shit, that was probably too much since they were alone. They shouldn’t do couple-y things when they were alone, there was no point. But Victor smiled and took a tight grip on Yuri’s hand and led him out of the building. Yuri swallowed the burning embarrassment and decided to not pull more attention to it.

“How’s the triple axel coming along?” Victor asked when they passed the ice rink on their way to the main school building. Effectively breaking Yuri out of his racing mind, with another anxiety.

“… I don’t think I’ll get it before competitions start,” he muttered.

“Why not? You’ve landed it several times, I’ve seen you do it,” Victor said.

“Yeah, but my success rate is like one in twenty.”

Victor hummed, “You flub your jumps when you think too much.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Yuri said, sighing and taking a sip of his tea.

Victor laughed, “Okay. Let’s do some extra practice after classes, yes? You just need to get out of your head and get the success rate up.”

“’Just’…” Yuri muttered under his breath, then added, “Sure, let’s do it. It can’t hurt.”

**-**

Well, it did hurt. Falling over and over did that to you. But by the time they had to call it a night Yuri had landed the axel three times in a row.

“Now you just need to do it a few dozen times more and you’ll have it,” Victor said cheerfully as they walked back to the dormitories. Hand in hand, even though it was late, and the campus was mostly deserted.

“Yeah,” Yuri agreed half-heartedly, but he felt more optimistic about it now. And determined to get his success rate up enough so he could change the double in his short program to a triple.

**-**

On Thursday morning Yuri beamed when he once again opened the door to find Victor outside.

“Morning,” he said and held out the cup to Yuri.

“Thanks,” Yuri said, and reached for Victor’s hand.

“What? I don’t get a kiss today?” Victor said, turning his cheek to Yuri in a clear request.

“I- uh…” Yuri glanced around, as usual the corridor was empty. Then he looked at Victor’s smirk and decided against letting Victor tease him. So, he gave him a kiss and said, “Of course you get.”

Victor actually blushed again, smiled, and grabbed a tight hold of Yuri’s hand. “Good.”

**-**

“… Victor’s been pining after him since we started,” Chris’s voice carried down the corridor as soon as Yuri opened the door from the staircase. It was twenty minutes until their last class for the day, and Yuri hadn’t expected anyone to be up here already.

“Really?” Yuri heard Phichit say with genuine surprise.

“Yeah. Ever since the second week he’s been in my room whining every other day,” Chris distorted his voice, clearly mimicking Victor, “’Chris, he’s so cute’, ‘Chris, he’s so smart’, ‘Chris, did you see those thighs?’, ‘Chris, I’m so gay’, ‘Chris, do you think he likes me?’ Chris, Chris, Chris in all eternity.”

Yuri hadn’t noticed that he’d stopped awkwardly in the door, with it still open. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but the lump in his throat made him frozen in place. Trying to keep from letting the pain in his chest take over as he heard what Victor had been saying about his crush. He had to blink tears away. Damn it, why did it hurt so much?

“Wow, he’s so…”

“Dramatic? Sappy? Annoying? All of the above?”

“Yeah…”

“Why do you ask anyway?”

It dawned on Yuri what Phichit could say if he thought he and Chris were alone.

“Well, I was worried because Yuri-…”

Yuri slammed the door to the staircase behind him, effectively startling Phichit into silence. He walked with fast steps down the corridor to the wider area where a few benches where placed outside their classroom.

“Yuri!” Phichit said in surprise, looking like he’d been caught red-handed.

“Hi Peach,” Yuri said, glaring at Phichit who had the decency to look slightly guilty. “Chris.”

“Where’s Victor?” asked Chris, looking up from his phone.

“He went with Mila and the rest to get some coffee,” Yuri said, settling in on the bench across from Chris and Phichit.

“And you didn’t go with him?” Chris asked, looking genuinely surprised, “I thought you two were attached at the hip by now.”

“We’re not,” Yuri snapped, “And I didn’t want anything.”

Chris looked up at him with raised eyebrows, “Trouble in paradise already?”

Yuri refrained from rolling his eyes and ask if Chris found it fun to torture him. “No, of course not.” He said with a strained smile.

They were interrupted by the sound of the door closing again and voices in the corridor. It was Otabek and Yurio who came around the corner, Yurio sitting down on the free bench space beside Yuri and Otabek opting to lean against the wall beside the bench. They were deeply involved in a discussion about something, Yuri didn’t care enough to try and figure it out between all Yurio’s cursing. Chris returned to tapping at his phone, and after Yuri did the same Phichit gave up on them having any form of conversation apparently.

In the following minutes, the rest of the class trickled in one after the other. Soon the chatter melted together to distant background noise while Yuri pretended to be engrossed in his phone. When really, he was obsessively trying, for the thousandth time in four days, to figure out who Victor liked. Every time Yuri asked Victor, he got an affirmative answer. Which didn’t help much, because there didn’t seem to be any consistency in who was with them. But now he learned from the overheard conversation that the crush was a guy at least.

He shook himself, why was he obsessing over this? He’d get nowhere and Victor hadn’t wanted him to know. Of course, he was curious. But knowing his identity would probably only make Yuri feel even worse. No, he should stop thinking about this. Keep going as usual, continue pretending, and try not to make his and Victor’s friendship weird.

He was broken from his thoughts by the arrival of Victor, Mila, Sala, Mickey and Isabella. Victor stopped in front of the bench with a wide smile and two to-go cups.

“Scooch,” he said to Yurio, and pushed his legs with his foot.

“Stop kicking me, idiot,” Yurio growled, not budging.

“I wanna sit with Yuri, move over,” Victor said simply and squeezed down in the tiny space between the two Yuri’s. Pushing Yurio right out to the edge, earning a smattering of Russian curses, which Victor barely noticed.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything,” Victor said and held out one of the cups to Yuri, “But I got you some tea anyway. I thought you were probably cold. I know I am…”

“Victor,” Yuri complained, “You shouldn’t have…” He still took the offered cup though.

“But I didn’t want my sweet boyfriend to be cold,” Victor said and slung his now free arm over Yuri’s shoulders. “Come here, I’ll warm you up.”

“Victoooor…” Yuri whined, trying to hide his face in one hand.

Victor only laughed and tightened his hold on Yuri, taking a sip from his own cup. Yuri conceded and tried the tea, which he had to admit felt good after three hours of ice time.

“Thanks,” he mumbled and relaxed into Victor’s embrace.

“No problem,” said Victor and kissed Yuri on the head.

Yuri pointedly avoided looking up and meeting Phichit’s eyes. He didn’t want to see the barely concealed worry and disapproval that Phichit had been radiating since Monday.

**-**

On Friday Victor kissed Yuri on the cheek when he said ‘Good morning’. Yuri’s heart felt like it skipped a beat and he had to swallow down a wide grin. He mumbled ‘Good morning’ back and accepted the offered cup. On the way to the ice rink Victor talked and joked, gesturing with their joined hands. Yuri didn’t contribute much, he just listened and took in how pretty Victor was, smiling and laughing in the morning sun. 

**-**

Yuri stopped by the barrier to take a few deep clunks of water, heaving after the third attempted triple axel and the first success. Training with Victor had really helped. Someone slid to a stop right beside him and in lowering his water bottle Yuri came face to face with said fake-boyfriend. He leaned against the barrier and stared at Yuri.

“Wow,” he breathed out, barely audible. Yuri couldn’t decipher the expression in his eyes and started squirming when Victor didn’t say anything more.

“What is it?” Yuri said after a moment, “Is there something on my face?”

Victor shook his head, “No, you’re just hot.”

“Oh my god, Victor!” Yuri spluttered, almost dropping his water bottle.

“Wha-aat? I can’t call my boyfriend hot?” Victor asked innocently.

“I’m not though…” Yuri murmured under his breath, caught off guard and unsure of what to say.

“Which? Not hot? Not my boyfriend?” Victor’s eyes twinkled.

“Both…”

“Yes, you are. To both,” Victor said and leaned in closer, “Watch what you’re saying, what if someone heard?” His voice was sultry and teasing, not sounding the least bit worried. 

“Sorry,” Yuri mumbled.

Victor’s breath was warm against Yuri’s ear and throat, still too close. He gave Yuri a kiss on the cheek.

“The axel is looking better,” he said as he drew back, “See, you just need to stop thinking so much.” He tapped Yuri’s forehead with a satisfied smirk.

“I know,” Yuri sighed, swatting his hand away, “It feels good though, I feel a bit more confident.”

“Good,” Victor nodded, then added with a teasing smile, “And you looked really good doing it. Couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

“Victooor,” Yuri whined, feeling his cheeks heat up even worse.

“Nikiforov! Katsuki!” a loud bark came from the other side of the rink, “Stop slacking off!”

“Oops,” Victor laughed, “We better get back to it.”

“Yeah,” said Yuri, putting his water bottle down and hurrying out on the ice again. “Sorry, Yakov,” he called to their coach, who glared across the ice.

“Let me see that axel, Katsuki,” Yakov called, “I’m sure you’ve gotten it down, since you have time to stand around.”

Yuri swallowed his embarrassment and set up for the jump. And fell.

“Again,” was the only feedback he got.

This time around he landed it, albeit a bit wobbly, and earned a gruff, “Good, keep working. Remember your posture and straighten out that leg.”

Yuri nodded and set up for another try.

Behind him, he heard Yakov’s voice again, “Nikiforov! Stop ogling Katsuki and focus on your training.” Yuri fell again.

**-**

In the evening, their class met up on the ground floor of their dorm building, planning on having a movie night in one of the common rooms. When Yuri got down most of the class was already there. The room wasn’t particularly big, more like a slightly larger than a normal living room. It had a large couch and two stuffy armchairs, a coffee table and a TV. The couch and armchairs were taken, and several people sat on pillows on the floor.

Victor sat in one of the armchairs, sideways with his legs dangling over the armrest. He was talking to Mila who leaned on the backrest, laughing at something she said. Then she locked eyes with Yuri and smiled a wide, concerning smile. Victor turned around and threw his arms out.

“Yuri!” He waved enthusiastically and Mila inched away from him, “Come sit here.”

Yuri smiled weakly and made his way across the room, trying to not step on or stumble on anyone. He planned to sit down in front of the chair, resting his back against it. It would be a bit hard to see the screen, but it was totally worth it to sit close to Victor.

But Victor stopped him before he could sit down, tugging Yuri down in his lap. Yuri let out a surprised squeal, and everyone turned to look at them. A few snickered, Yurio sighed loudly and Phichit, the traitor, was taking pictures.

“Victor…” Yuri whined.

“You don’t want to sit with me?” Victor pouted.

Yuri couldn’t stop from rolling his eyes, “Of course I do.”

“Then stop whining and make yourself comfortable,” Victor rolled his eyes back.

Yuri chuckled and moved around a bit so he could lean against Victor’s chest. Victor wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his chin on Yuri’s shoulder.

After a few moments silence, Yuri whispered, “Are they here?”

“Who?” Victor sounded confused and Yuri felt him lift his head to look around.

“You know…” Yuri bit back the bile that threatened to rise in his throat, “Your crush?”

“Oh, him,” Victor said, like he hadn’t even thought about it before, and added nonchalant, “Yeah, he’s here.”

Yuri swallowed hard again, looking around the room. The only ones missing now were Chris and Ketty, who were out buying snacks. That left; Mickey, Georgi, Emil, Seung-gil, JJ, Phichit, Yurio, Otabek, Leo, Guang Hong and Kenjiro. JJ was with Isabella, so he was out. Phichit was very improbable. Mickey, Emil and Georgi were straight, at least as far as Yuri knew, the rest he wasn’t sure about.

The only ones who looked bothered were Yurio and Kenjiro. Even though Yurio had grumbled and complained several times during the week, and was now looking at them with disgust, Yuri was quite sure it wasn’t Yurio who was Victor’s crush. For one thing, nothing in his complaining said ‘jealous’, it was more annoyed, disgusted and exasperated. Exact the same attitude he had towards Isabella and JJ.

Kenjiro, he actually looked bothered. He glanced at them with a tense expression, and when Yuri caught his eyes he blushed and turned away quickly. Could it be Kenjiro? But Yuri couldn’t think of a single time he had seen Kenjiro and Victor talk outside class. That didn’t necessarily mean anything-…

“I can practically hear you thinking,” said Victor, “Be careful so you don’t hurt yourself.” He pinched Yuri in the side, making him squirm and giggle in his lap. This naturally meant Victor needed to continue, laughing as Yuri tried to wiggle free from his arms.

“Oh, no,” Victor said when Yuri had almost escaped his grasp, “Get back here.” He took a firmer grip around Yuri's waist, pressing his back against Victor’s chest.

Yuri did his best to give back in kind, but only managed to expose more of his sides for Victor to tickle.

“S- s- st- stop,” he forced out, “Mer- mercy, please.”

“What do I get if I stop?” said Victor, loud enough that everyone could hear him over Yuri’s laughter.

“Any- any- anything!”

Victor stilled, his fingers thrumming lightly against Yuri’s side in a silent threat while he made a show of thinking it over.

“I might be convinced for a kiss?”

“A… kiss…?”

Blood rushed through Yuri’s ears and he swallowed hard. Pecks on the cheek and hugs were one thing, but a kiss. That was… Yuri wanted to ask why, but with the whole class around them, all of them more or less attentive, it wasn’t really an option. Of course Yuri wanted to kiss Victor, there were few things he wanted more. But was that okay? Wasn’t it taking advantage of the situation? But Victor had asked for it-…

“Please?” Victor said sweetly and tilted his head, looking far more innocent than he was.

Yuri licked his lips uncertainly, turning slightly so he could see Victor better, then nodded. He leaned forth, bringing their lips together before he could come to his senses. It pushed a soft sound of surprise out of Victor. Yuri was on his way to pull back when he felt Victor’s hand trailing up his back and cup his neck. It wasn’t hard, but it felt like a request to not stop yet. So, Yuri didn’t. They moved their lips together and Yuri felt lightheaded.

“Oh, get a room you two,” said Chris’s voice. He and Ketty had apparently arrived with the movie snacks, which they arranged on the coffee table.

Victor pulled back slightly, and said with a smile, “We have rooms.”

“Maybe you should use them?” said Yurio, “So we’ll be spared your disgusting snogging.”

“But we want to watch the movie,” Victor pouted, but couldn’t help but chuckle it seemed when Yurio gave him a look of clear disdain.

Yuri was awfully glad Victor got distracted by their classmates, and that Yuri didn’t have to answer them. Because he felt like his brain had frozen and stopped working, the flutter in his stomach was deeply unsettling. Like angry bees. He didn’t pay attention as the class decided on a movie, just vaguely noting that Phichit’s suggestion of ‘the King and the Skater’ was shut down.

“Hey, Yuri,” Victor said in a low voice, “you okay?”

Yuri shook himself, trying to gather his thoughts again, “I’m fine.”

“You sure? Was that too much?” he said, uncertain, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Yuri pressed forth a smile, “You didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

Well, at least that wasn’t a lie. Uncomfortable was the last thing he would describe kissing Victor as. This afterward though, when he remembered Victor didn’t actually want to kiss him, but someone else in the room. That was uncomfortable. But that was entirely Yuri’s own fault, he had made his bed when he cracked this idiotic plan.

Victor didn’t look entirely convinced, “If you say so… Just stop me if I’m going too far.”

“Really, it’s fine,” Yuri said, and turned so he could rest against Victor’s chest again. The movie had already started, and the others were growing quiet.

“Okay.” Victor tightened his embrace around Yuri’s waist for a moment, and then also settled in to watch the movie. Yuri placed his arms over Victor’s and relaxed further. Victor hummed pleasantly, resting his chin on Yuri’s shoulder again.

About halfway through the movie, Yuri felt Victor lazily stroking his waist with his thumbs, like he wasn’t really aware he was doing it. It was insanely cozy, and Yuri just wanted to stay there forever.

After the movie was over, they stayed and talked for a while, before deciding to clean up and go to bed. When they were done, the class dispersed and went to their own rooms. The girls going to the building next door and the boys going up the stairs.

Victor and Yuri stopped on the second landing outside the door leading to the dorm rooms on the second floor. Yuri had his room there and Victor’s were another two stories up. Several of their classmates moved around them, Leo and Guang Hong going through the door and the rest continuing upstairs. All of them saying good night to each other.

Victor brought their joined hands up to his lips and gave Yuri’s knuckles a soft kiss. Yuri swallowed hard and did his best to not think about how, just a few hours ago, he had kissed those lips. Not think about how good that felt and how he wished he could do it again.

“See you tomorrow?” said Victor, smiling softly.

“Uh, sure,” said Yuri, trying to remember if they had made plans to do something. But he couldn’t come up with anything.

“Great,” said Victor, and gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek that lingered a little too long, “Sleep well.”

“You too,” Yuri managed to croak out before Victor had dashed up the stairs.

Dazed and with heavy steps Yuri dragged himself to his room and into bed. Letting out his frustration by screaming into his pillow. He was so screwed, he needed to put an end to this. He couldn’t take it anymore.

**-**

Loud raps on his door woke Yuri the next morning. Blearily he reached for his phone. 10.26. He sighed frustrated and rolled over, mind set on falling asleep again. It was Saturday and he deserved to sleep in. Whoever it was outside the door could wait.

After several sharp raps on the door a sing-song voice called, “Yuri! Yu-uuri!”

Fuck, of course it was Victor.

“I’m sleeping!”

“Yuri, it’s morning!”

“Go away.”

“Rude!”

With a groan Yuri got up from the bed, there was no way he would fall asleep again anyway, snatched his glasses from the nightstand and opened the door. The light from the corridor blinded him for a moment, but he could hear the gleeful smile in Victor’s voice.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said, “Did I wake you?”

“Victoruuuu,” Yuri groaned, leaning heavily against the door, his accent slipping through more when he was tired, “You know you did.”

“Yeah, well,” Victor slipped in through the door without invitation, “I missed my pretty boyfriend. And since I know what a lazy head he can be, I brought breakfast.” He held up a bag with the name of the campus café on it. From which the heavenly scent of coffee and tea came, mixed with something that smelled suspiciously like cinnamon rolls.

Yuri just shook his head, too tired to protest and just closed the door.

“I’ll never get how you can be like this in the morning,” he muttered while opening his dresser to put on a shirt. He had thankfully been wearing at least sweatpants when he opened the door.

“It’s not morning though, it’s almost noon,” Victor said, and pulled up Yuri’s blinds. Flooding the room in much more light than Yuri would’ve liked.

“On a Saturday!” Yuri protested and pulled a t-shirt over his head, “Anything before twelve is morning on a Saturday.”

When he put his glasses back on, he saw that Victor had unpacked the bag onto Yuri’s desk, and turned around.

“Aww,” Victor looked sadly at Yuri’s chest, “You didn’t need to put on a shirt for my sake. I was enjoying the view.”

“Victor,” Yuri hid his burning face in his hands, “It’s too early for teasing.”

“Again, almost noon,” Victor laughed, “Come on, let’s eat.”

He had brought them each a to-go cup with what Yuri assumed was coffee and tea, and he had indeed bought two large cinnamon rolls.

Yuri reached out and gave him a hug, “Thanks, you’re so nice to me.”

“I like spoiling you,” Victor said.

“What would Yakov say if he knew we ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast?” Yuri chuckled and shook his head.

“What he doesn’t know…” said Victor and winked. Then crawled up to sit on Yuri’s bed. “Hand me the coffee?”

Yuri took the two cups and sat down on the bed too, giving one of them to Victor.

“Thanks,” he said and gave Yuri a kiss on the cheek.

It took a second for Yuri’s sluggish brain to compute, but his cheek burned where Victor’s lips had touched it. He took a sip from the cup; it was too early, and he was too tired. He hadn’t planned on bringing it up just yet. But he had to.

He drew a shaky breath and said, “Um, Victor…?”

“Yeah?”

“This… um, fake relationship thing…” Yuri’s mouth felt very dry.

“What about it?” Victor said.

Yuri cleared his throat, “Do you-… Do you think it’s been working?”

He chanced a glance at Victor and saw his eyes sparkle with mischief.

“Oh yes, he seems very jealous,” Victor said, “I’m quite confident he likes me back.”

“Oh,” Yuri’s heart sank like a rock, “Then there’s no point in… continuing this…?” Yuri mumbled.

“No,” Victor said teasingly, “I’d much rather we just got together for real.”

Yuri’s head whipped to the side and stared at Victor, mouth opening and closing several times while he tried to make sense of the words. “What?” he croaked after a while.

Victor wore a shit-eating grin, “Will you be my real boyfriend, Yuri?”

Yuri clipped his eyes, “I don’t understand…”

“Did you know you’re very cute when you’re confused?” Victor asked, that grin still in place.

“You mean…?” Yuri’s brain was starting to catch up, “You like me? I’m your crush?!”

Victor laughed, “Of course, who else?”

“Oh my god,” Yuri whispered and then louder, “Oh my god, you’re such an ass!”

Victor laughed heartily, “Takes one to know one, my Yuri.”

He gave Yuri a quick kiss on the lips and ducked the pillow Yuri had aimed at his head. Yuri lunged after him.

“Careful! Careful!” Victor squealed, “Watch the coffee!”

“Oh, right,” he said, feigning calmness and took the cup from Victor. Put them both and his glasses on the desk, and then attacked Victor. They rolled around on the bed, tickling each other and laughing until they cried, doing their best to get the upper hand. After a few struggling minutes, Yuri straddled Victor and had his arms pinned on either side of his head.

“I give up,” Victor panted while still trying to wiggle free, “I give up.”

Yuri cocked his head to the side, “And what do I get if I stop?”

“A kiss?”

Yuri smiled and let go of Victor’s hands, “Deal.”

Victor wasted no time in grabbing ahold of Yuri’s neck and pulling him down to him. Victor’s lips were warm and soft and Yuri all but melted against him. Bracing himself on one arm and letting the other cup Victor’s cheek. Victor hummed pleased and held Yuri tighter. Happiness tingled through Yuri’s entire body all the way out to his fingertips. Victor parted his lips slightly and Yuri deepened the kiss. Victor’s free arm traced up and down Yuri’s back, and then slipping in under the hem.

After what felt like an eternity, they parted slightly to catch their breath. Victor still stroking Yuri’s back under the t-shirt and tangling his fingers in his hair. Yuri stroked his fingers over Victor’s cheek, down his jaw and over his lips. Thinking he looked unfairly beautiful like this. Splayed out under Yuri in his bed, panting and with kiss-swollen lips.

“Wow,” he breathed, and Victor smiled.

“Yeah, wow…” he agreed.

Yuri kissed him again, and again.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked after a while, still looking amazed at the sight under him.

Victor cocked his head, “Why didn’t you?”

Yuri chuckled and rolled off him, settling in at his side, “Because I’m a coward.”

“Yuuuri,” said Victor with a smirk, rolling over on his side to face Yuri, “You shouldn’t talk shit about my boyfriend.”

“It’s the truth,” Yuri said with a self-deprecating smile. There really was no other word for it.

“But you don’t have to say it!”

“Hey,” Yuri nudged him playfully, barely holding in his laughter, “This is the part where you assure me I’m not a coward.”

“I would never lie to you,” Victor huffed, “And in case you’ve forgotten, this was your idea.”

Yuri groaned and hid his face in the pillow, “Believe me, I remember,” his voice muffled as he continued, “I don’t know where such a stupid plan came from… Why’d you agree to it?”

Victor laughed under his breath, “I thought it might be fun to see where you were going with this.”

Yuri groaned in protest, and Victor tried to get him to look up again.

“And, if nothing else I could show you what a great boyfriend I would make. So, even if you weren't interested before, you would be.”

Yuri peaked up at him and was met with a teasing smile.

“And to be fair, the plan worked much better than I thought it would,” Victor poked him in the side, “I’ve had a blast this week.”

“Ass…” muttered Yuri into the pillow.

“What was that?” Victor made a show of pretending to try and hear, “Ass… you want me to grab your ass? Sure, I’ll do my best.”

He reached down and pinched Yuri quite hard before Yuri had a chance to stop him.

“Ouch, Victoor!” he said reproachfully, and they both laughed.

Victor’s hand didn’t move far though and stroked lazy circles over Yuri’s hip, fingertips ghosting in under the hem of his shirt again. A bout of surrealism hit Yuri; he hadn’t really processed the turn of events yet. Victor’s tongue flickered out to wet his lips and the motion captivated Yuri. He didn’t think much before leaning forth again to claim those lips, to feel that tongue teasing the seam of his own lips, letting it in and all but drowning in the wonderful thing that kissing Victor was.

Victor rolled them over, so he was on top of Yuri, slotting one of his legs between Yuri’s. The weight of him grounded Yuri in a way he never knew was possible, he hooked his leg up around Victor to keep him in place along with arms around his shoulders. Never wanting there to be any space between them. Victor moaned encouragingly, rolling his hips against Yuri’s. Yuri slipped his hands in under Victor’s shirt, feeling Victor’s tentative caresses doing the same. The touch of bare skin felt electric and Yuri wanted more. So much more.

He felt that Victor was affected too. It egged Yuri on, even if he didn’t want to go all the way today. The thought of it being a possibility, the thought of him affecting Victor like that, it was too much to handle. He tangled the fingers of one hand in Victor’s silky hair. Groaning in appreciation when Victor rolled his hips again.

They didn’t separate until a loud growling from Victor’s stomach startled them both into laughter.

“Maybe we should eat that breakfast you brought?” Yuri suggested, pecking Victor quickly on the lips and sitting up.

Victor whined in protest, tugging at Yuri's shirt, “I don’t wanna. I wanna kiss you.”

Yuri just raised his eyebrows as Victor’s stomach once again made its objections known.

“Fine,” Victor pouted and sat up, sneaking a real kiss from Yuri before turning to the desk. “The coffee’s cold,” he muttered as he picked up the to-go cup.

Yuri reached for the cinnamon roll, tearing off a piece and offering it to Victor, who accepted. Yuri took a piece for himself and looked at the clock. It was afternoon already; they’d been making out for hours. Yuri’s ears heated up at the realization. He was suddenly very hungry too.

“Should we go and buy something to eat?” Yuri asked, the thought of cooking seemed so daunting at the moment.

“Yuri, are you asking me out?” Victor said with a teasing smile, taking another piece of cinnamon roll.

Yuri chuckled and then said in a serious tone, “Victor, do you want to go on a date with me? Down to the local McDonald’s perhaps? Cheating on our diet so much Yakov would have a secondhand heart attack if he knew?”

Victor’s cheeks strained with how widely he smiled that wonderful, heart-shaped smile Yuri loved, “There’s nothing I’d rather want.”

Yuri just had to kiss him again at that, Victor moaning and dragging him back down on the bed.

Half an hour later they had managed to separate long enough to put on coats and shoes. Hunger the only reason they didn’t stay in bed for the rest of time. Hand in hand they left the dormitories, laughing and trading quick pecks on the lips at every possibility.


End file.
